Becoming an Indigenous Place Keeper: My Artist Fellowship

Around this same time, I proposed and received approval to create a children’s book for my tribe through the Indigenous Place Keeping Artist Fellowship (IPKA). <a href="https://www.smokesignals.org/articles/2023/03/30/tribe-selects-five-artistic-fellows/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">This unique fellowship</a> offered by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde provides artists with an opportunity to create work that will have a direct impact on the local Indigenous community. I proposed a book that would feature one of our traditional stories. So, I began my fellowship with a visit to my tribe’s reservation in Grand Ronde, Oregon where I met with staff at <a href="https://www.grandronde.org/history-culture/culture/chachalu-museum-and-cultural-center/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Chachalu Museum and Cultural Center</a> to research our traditional stories and select the right one to illustrate. We decided on the creation story of Willamette Falls, which is also a Coyote story. <a href="https://medium.com/@littlebirdartmail/becoming-an-indigenous-place-keeper-my-artist-fellowship-0c8741c22e88">Website</a>